Mills Scofield

DECEMBER 12, 2012

It seems I’m spending more and more time in high school these days. No, not my kids’ school, the business 21 - Sheesh! by Jess Esch world. Perhaps the economy has increased insecurity, doubt and lack of trust in business; perhaps adolescence’s creeping into the 30’s is why its taking longer to grow up and be professional; or perhaps we’re so politically correct, or conflict avoiding, that we are sacrificing accountability and productivity for fear of offending.

Short-term 170

Short-term Long-term Morale Politics 170

Mills Scofield

OCTOBER 12, 2012

Another wonderful guest post by a friend & client, Lisa Lehman at Thogus. It's not that I'm abandoning my posts here, it's just that so many wonderful things are happening that I want to share. Thogus's president, Matt Hlavin , is blessed with 2 brains - one in his head and the other in Lisa's. Her initiative to create a family tree at Thogus Family Tree Thogus has had an impact beyond expectation.

Company 169

Company Survey Bottom-up Bond 169

Mills Scofield

DECEMBER 17, 2012

Well, last week’s post got some great responses. I find it very providential that Jessica Esch has been reading my Jessica Esch "#58 At Last" mind as she’s creating her book ;-). The horrors of last Friday are very fresh for all of us, and sorrowfully, will be permanently fresh for many families in Newtown. I can’t even fathom their pain and anguish.

Licensing 168

Licensing Price Politics Power 168

Mills Scofield

JULY 18, 2012

Last March, Whitney Johnson and I were dining on exquisite sushi in Boston celebrating the upcoming launch of her powerful book, Dare, Dream, Do. We also discussed the lack of women in Venture Capital (VC) because I had never noticed I was the only female partner in mine ! While this subject is a blog post I been asked to, but not yet written, two things happened today, 1 in Cleveland, 1 in California, that made me write this from Maine: Neuros Medical , a company my VC firm, Glengary, invested

Automotive 168

Automotive Quality Power Books 168

Mills Scofield

SEPTEMBER 23, 2012

I'm posting these comments for you to see how fabulous our Gen-Y'ers are ( not to be boastful or bragging, I'm just honored to be able to meet these kids). Their ability to listen, distill, discern, learn, apply and share are way beyond what ours were at their age, let alone 10, 20, 30 years older. We need to listen, distill, discern, learn, apply and share their wisdom with the rest of the world.

Mentor 158

Mentor EPS Magazine Class 158

Mills Scofield

OCTOBER 22, 2012

I’m privileged to have one of the very first, hot off the press, copies of Josh Allan Dkystra’s new book, Igniting the Invisible Tribe. It is about a new way of business and work for the 21 st Century. It’s a fabulous, must read book on how the world of ‘work’ can, and should, evolve and what we can do, with practical real questions to answer, to make that happen. 4 things are particularly remarkable to me in the book: The book itself – the physical book.

Long-term 157

Long-term Books Resistance Tools 157

Mills Scofield

MAY 13, 2012

When you see a need or issue, what do you do? Most of us shake our heads and say, “Someone should take care of that.” Well, someone = us ! Perhaps one of the reasons someone ≠ us is that the perceived risk of ‘doing’ diminishes our courage. Perhaps innovators and entrepreneurs aren’t more risk-o-philic, they just define risk differently – not following one’s passion and purpose is a greater risk than financial or reputational security.

Business Model 154

Business Model Constraint Innovation Licensing 154

Mills Scofield

APRIL 15, 2012

Quick, tell me your organization’s business model. Can you? Can you tell me what a business model is? Oh, it’s how we make money! Therein lies the problem. It’s a lot more than just making money – making money is the output, not even the outcome, let alone the model. Your organization, whether for-profit or not-for-profit, has a business model.

Kaplan 151

Kaplan Business Model Levitt Christensen 151

Mills Scofield

OCTOBER 31, 2012

I grew up in Rumson, NJ by the ocean (I used to say “the jersey shore” but can’t anymore) spending my Sea Bright, NJ post Hurricane Sandy summers on the beach in Sea Bright and sailing in the briny rivers and ocean. There were “traditions” around certain weather occurrences, like the annual Nor’easter that helped get the boat out of the water, the annual winter beach erosion and summer rebuilding and the very very rare snow on the beach.

Engineering 150

Engineering Learning-by-Doing Cost Planning 150

Mills Scofield

NOVEMBER 27, 2012

Every once in a while, you are privileged to witness the embodiment of what has become a buzzword, Servant Leadership - someone who is innately wired as a servant leader – authentic, genuine and sincere. I’m privileged to have met a few of these people in my career – in fact, five “someones” recently at a warm, welcoming, generous visit to Enterasys’s headquarters in Andover, MA.

Leadership 150

Leadership Servant Leader Bottom-up Technology 150

Mills Scofield

NOVEMBER 13, 2012

Mark Twain said, " Truth is stranger than fiction, but it is because Fiction is obliged to stick to possibilities; Truth isn't. " Fiction pales in light of the Patreaus fiasco. I am simply astounded at Patraeus' grievously poor judgment and lack of virtue. The relationships and timing of all these events vis-a-vis the yet-to-be-revealed real truth about the Benghazi tragedy call so much into question - about our national security, decisions made about/in Iraq, Afghanistan, Libya, etc.

Morale 149

Morale System Process Leadership 149

Mills Scofield

AUGUST 17, 2012

One of the most amazing leaders I’ve ever met, Mike Waite, President of Menasha Packaging Corporation , believes his job is making sure his people get to live their dreams. While profit, revenue, shareholder value etc. are critical, without his people’s ability to turn dreams into reality – for customers and for themselves – there is no revenue, profit or anything else…simple…and too rare.

Innovation 146

Innovation Safe Harbor Sports Education 146

Mills Scofield

AUGUST 13, 2012

After some tweet and email discussions with Anne Marie Slaughter and Cali Williams Yost about Anne Marie’s article on The Atlantic , and the uproar about Marissa Mayer becoming Yahoo’s CEO while she is pregnant, I decided to weigh in. Finally, we are having an honest discussion of “having it all” instead of perpetuating a fairly tale.

Mentor 142

Mentor Agility Innovation Travel 142

Mills Scofield

SEPTEMBER 11, 2012

This is a guest post by Kona Shen , Founder of GOALS Haiti , mentioned here. What she has done for youth and their families in Haiti demonstrates courage, compassion, purpose and leadership savvy few CEO’s of any age possess. Kona shares the starkly different definitions of ‘basic needs’ between the USA and Haiti and how it affects her productivity and impact…a lesson for us all!

Hammer 140

Hammer Long-term How To Bond 140

Mills Scofield

SEPTEMBER 25, 2012

More wisdom, insight and learning from Gen-Y. I'm honored to have worked with Wyatt, Jack and Shahab since last November as they prepared, won and established their company. Wyatt won Oberlin College's Creativity & Leadership Fellowship of $30,000 to start the business after graduation. Below, the three share their lessons Window: Wyatt; Corner: Shahab; Jack in blue learned so far.

Learning-by-Doing 138

Learning-by-Doing Creativity Brainstorming Skills 138

Mills Scofield

JUNE 18, 2012

You know how Amazon, Netflix, and everybody else have a ‘recommender’ service? Based on what you’ve bought, browsed, read, listened to, they suggest things you may like. But if I’m always being told about things that are “like” what I like, how will I discover new and different things? It could constrain opportunities for serendipity and luck (which I’m pretty dependent on).

Open-book 138

Open-book Innovation Blog Books 138

Mills Scofield

JULY 8, 2012

Yesterday I was really irritated. Upon my recommendation, an entrepreneur I’m mentoring reached out to two people who already knew him very well. They responded based on their individual silos; they didn’t stop and think about who else they could connect him to! I was so peeved! They know this kid; they think he’s great and that he’s doing wonderful things.

Mentor 136

Mentor Entrepreneur Blog Innovation 136

Mills Scofield

JUNE 26, 2012

As some of you know, I am passionate about networking, leading indicators and innovation from new combinations of existing things. I’ve been wondering how networks can be leading indicators for innovation! Sarah Beaulieu reminded me about LinkedIn’s Maps , so I took a look at mine : I won’t go into detail, but it’s interesting to see the clusters of my clients, the communities I “belong” to (geographic, education, career, faith, etc.) and the intersections (or

Innovation 136

Innovation Venture Capitalist Education Career 136

Mills Scofield

NOVEMBER 7, 2012

Our society has made significant progress on reducing landfills. From companies like Subaru’s Zero Landfill Plant in Indiana to the many trash and recycling bins on campuses, shopping areas and homes, we are conscious of not wasting our physical resources. So, I’ve wondered if we are creating the equivalent of a digital landfill? I’m not talking about the plethora of physical computer equipment (and precious, rare-earth minerals) in landfills but the actual concept of wasted, u

Download 135

Download Film Resources Software 135

Mills Scofield

DECEMBER 3, 2012

My great friend, Jess Esch , designed and drew my e-Christmas & Chanukah greeting this year. Shortly after sending it out, I was chatting with one the entrepreneurs I'm mentoring, Wyatt Hayman. He asked about the 'd' signature of mine - was it 3/4 of a heart? was it my signature? He told me what he saw in the 'd' and drew it. This simple, elegant e-card has touched me in two powerful unexpected ways: first, that Jess would do this for me, would share her incredible gifts with me to share wit

How To 128

How To Mentor Entrepreneur Innovation 128

Mills Scofield

JULY 30, 2012

This was posted on HBR on Monday July 30th -. From customers' and suppliers' viewpoint, Company X is fast growing, exciting, and high-energy. Inside, though, it's a tornado. Fighting fires, arguing over who committed to what, why it didn't happen, and noticing things that fell through the cracks in just enough time is normal. How can this happen when they have weekly departmental meetings, keep track of action items, and post projects and timelines everywhere?

Commitment 125

Commitment Bottom-up Project Learning-by-Doing 125

Mills Scofield

FEBRUARY 8, 2012

Last month, my friend Whitney Johnson wrote a great post about entitlement being an innovation-killer. Please read it if you haven’t. I’m sure we all know examples of this in many aspects of our lives. In some corporate cultures, Innocide is brazen and in others incredibly polite and subtle. Perhaps the subtlest of all is Suinnocide – killing innovation within us.

Innovation 118

Innovation Politics Process Examples 118

Mills Scofield

JANUARY 22, 2012

Today’s New York Times front page features “ How U.S. Lost Out on iPhone Work ” about the loss of American jobs overseas and the implications for our middle class. I’ve been thinking about the 2 nd , 3 rd order effects of outsourcing, especially now that some companies are either doing or seriously considering insourcing. In November, I spoke with Bernard Charlès , CEO of Dassault Systèmes , (DS), creator of 3D simulation products for manufacturing to life s

Outsourcing 114

Outsourcing Insourcing Innovation Cost-Benefit Analysis 114

Mills Scofield

FEBRUARY 1, 2012

Seriously! You know when you have an idea for a new business, product, service or process and you tell someone and they pick it apart? They tell you all the reasons it won’t work. You get really really peeved and annoyed and say to yourself, “They just don’t ‘get it’ ”? Frustrating isn’t it? Last week, I was privileged to tag along with the Oberlin College Enterpreneurship Scholars on their trip to NYC visiting “Obie” alumni.

Innovation 105

Innovation Advice Marketing Planning 105

Mills Scofield

DECEMBER 19, 2012

Guest post at Switch and Shift -. Thank you Shawn Murphy & Ted Coine for the opportunity.

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Mills Scofield

NOVEMBER 27, 2012

My latest post at Harvard Business Review - please join in the discussion!

Management 98

Management Review Strategy Innovation 98

Mills Scofield

SEPTEMBER 28, 2012

Read my hypothesis on risk at Harvard Business Review:

Entrepreneur 107

Entrepreneur Review 107

Mills Scofield

SEPTEMBER 4, 2012

My latest post on Harvard Business Review: Four Lessons from the best Bosses I Ever had.

Review 87

Review Leadership Mentor Strategy 87

Mills Scofield

OCTOBER 9, 2012

Lastest post on Harvard Business Review - Seriously!

Strategy 101

Strategy Review 101

Mills Scofield

JULY 22, 2012

We use the term "trump" a lot (hum.gambling influence on our culture?). So I thought I'd posit a few trump cards of my own for the summer - here they are: Meaning & Purpose Trump Money & Profit : While we see this in the younger generation, isn’t it really true for all of us, even if we don’t admit or realize it? Hey, ½ (or more) of our lives are ‘at work’ – so we should enjoy it, relish it, be passionate about it.

Restructuring 178

Restructuring Process Strategy Innovation 178